1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for enabling a vehicle to pick up from, or set down on, the ground a load such as a skip, this load being provided with a lifting eye on a front face and with two longitudinal rails situated respectively on the right- and left-hand sides of a lower face of the load.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such an apparatus is known, corresponding to that described in French Patent 2,185,520, but in which the jib is telescopic as is disclosed in French Patent 2,109,109.
The known apparatus includes:
a frame which is arranged to be fixed on the chassis of the vehicle;
a tilting manipulating structure mounted on the frame, including a telescopic jib and a false chassis, the jib being articulated at the rear on the false chassis, which is itself articulated at the rear on the frame at the rear of the latter, the jib having a hook which is arranged to engage with the lifting eye of a load, the two articulating members, which are carried by the tilting structure between the jib and the false chassis and between the false chassis and the frame, respectively, being arranged so as to define for the hook either a first or a second transverse tilting axis, respectively, with the tilting structure being capable of assuming a position for setting down on or picking up from the ground, in which the hook is behind the vehicle at a height which enables it to engage with or be released from the lifting eye of a load placed on the ground behind the vehicle, and a transport position in which the tilting structure has at the front one of the portions of the jib which is vertical or nearly vertical and at the top of which the hook is situated;
a jib jack for elongating or shortening the other portion of the jib, which is horizontal or nearly horizontal in the transport position, with this portion being elongated in the transport position and shortened in a position for starting or finishing tilting, which is reached from the transport position by actuating the jib jack in the shortening sense; and
a tilting jack which is articulated at the front on the frame and at the rear on the jib, so as to cause the tilting structure to tilt between the position for starting or finishing tilting and the pick up or set down position, the tilting structure being adapted to cooperate with the frame in such a way that there exists, between the position for starting or finishing tilting and the pick up or set down position, a position for changing the articulating member which is reached when the jib comes into abutment on the false chassis, with the hook turning about the first tilting axis (defined by the member articulating the jib to the false chassis) between the position for starting or finishing tilting and the position for changing the articulating member, and about the second tilting axis (the member articulating the false chassis to the frame) between the position for changing the articulating member and the pick up or set down position.
The present invention proposes to provide an apparatus of the same nature, but with improved performance.